In the Silence
by Ryeloza
Summary: She's pregnant and she's not quite sure how she's going to tell him. A post-Forever Charmed fic.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **Even though I am obsessed with _Charmed_, I do not own it. I just wish I did.

**A/n: **Since this is a future fic, I thought I'd just make a note of the characters mentioned. All of my post-Forever Charmed fic is in the same universe (and scarily enough I have most of it planned out), but if you're new to my stories, here's the run down: Prudence Melinda (Meli) is Piper and Leo's daughter; Nora is Phoebe and Coop's oldest and Lena is their youngest; Paige and Henry have two children they adopted (Wil and Ellie, but they aren't mentioned by name in the story). I hope that helps with any confusion. Enjoy the story!

_Katie_

**Setting**: September 2031

**In the Silence**

A story by: **Ryeloza**

Nora is the first person she tells and she has no idea why because Nora abandoned her and left her with nothing but a guilty conscience and a pain in her heart. Plus, really, this is all-Nora's-fault-except-for-the-part-where-it-isn't.

They're in Nora and Graham's apartment when she tells Nora. She's sitting at Nora's brand new dining room-kitchen-whatever table; it's the only piece of furniture in the room because, as Nora says, she and Graham sacrificed furniture for a really nice apartment. It's amazing really, how little one really needs furniture.

She lays her head on the edge of the table and the oak is smooth against her temple. Without thinking about it, she has pushed the chair as far away from the table as she can and is sitting on the very edge of it, flexing her toes against the hardwood floor for support. Nora makes no comment on her position.

"Do you want some tea?" asks Nora.

"I'm pregnant," says Meli.

Nora nods. "Okay."

* * *

She tells her parents next because she knows already that this isn't going to turn into some shotgun wedding or moving in together to try to make it work or whatever other clichés—or are they realities?—are associated with unwed pregnancy. The idea of rushing into something like that with Colin is laughable and ironic, because haven't they already rushed into the biggest thing they could? Accidentally, of course.

So she's going to stay at home and raise the baby and continue going to school and this is what she tells her parents. They offer to help her any way they can and she nods, feeling as though a weight has been lifted from her chest. Yeah, she's twenty-four, and yeah, her parents are pretty cool, but there's still some kind of unspoken fear associated with this kind of news.

Her brothers don't react quite as well. Sometimes it's like they have a big brother over-protectiveness competition going and it sounds like this:

Chris: Bastard. By the time I'm done with him—

Wyatt: I'll beat the crap out of him, I swear. He won't even be recognizable anymore.

Chris: Hospitalized! They'll be feeding him through a tube!

Wyatt: He'll be lucky if his next home isn't a graveyard!

Chris: I'll kill him! I swear I'll kill him! He can't do this to you, Mel!

Meli lets their words wash over her and doesn't even try to protest. She's learned long ago that one, it's useless, and two, Chris and Wyatt wouldn't actually do anything like that unless she asked them to. Which she wouldn't. Not after that time with Mark Jacobs in the tenth grade. Lord, Nora had thought that was funny.

Once they've exhausted their arsenal of verbal assault Wyatt says, "Do you need anything, Mel?"

She shakes her head.

* * *

Nora drags her to one of the band's performance's later that week and when Meli sees where they are she's pissed. She feels like she should be able to tell Colin on her own time in her own way and she doesn't appreciate being pushed into it by her cousin. When she tells Nora this Nora simply shrugs and says, "I promised Graham we'd come."

Yeah. Sure.

The whole thing reminds Meli of why it's-all-Nora's-fault-except-for-the-part-where-it-isn't. When Nora finally decided to move back to San Francisco a couple of years ago everyone had welcomed her with open arms except for Meli and Lena. But then, they'd been the ones that Nora had left without a word and never called or wrote or telegrammed or whatever. Running away from home for Nora apparently meant running away from her best friend-cousin and her little sister too and it hurt a lot. That kind of hurt just didn't disappear, especially for Meli, who had her mother's blood running through her veins.

Nora tried though. She tried so hard to make up for it. Eventually Meli broke down because she still loved Nora a lot and what else was she going to do? It was then that Nora started dragging Meli along to all of Graham's band's performances and introduced her to the bassist, Colin. So yeah, it was all Nora's fault that Meli fell into an on-again, off-again romance with someone in a band. And it is all-Nora's-fault-except-for-the-part-where-it-isn't that she's pregnant now.

Here they are in a club just like a hundred other anonymous ones over the past two years and Meli is staring at Colin with heart-stopping anticipation, just like the first time she saw him. This time, though, instead of waiting for the set to stop and for Nora to introduce her, Meli has to wait for the set to stop so she can tell Colin that she's pregnant. And fuck, she doesn't want to do this here in a night club with glow-in-the-dark paint splattered on the walls.

"Didn't think you'd be here tonight, Mel," says Colin because at some point while she was having a panic attack, the set ended and Colin had approached the table. "Hey Nora," he adds.

"Hi and bye," says Nora. "I have to go find my husband." And Nora is gone, leaving Meli in a haze of confusion.

"What's up?" asks Colin, taking Nora's vacated seat.

"We need to talk," says Meli.

Colin raises an eyebrow that seems to say, "I thought that's what we were doing," but shrugs because he's fantastically amazing and says, "Okay. When?" and damn it all to hell, she just wants to kiss him even though they broke up for the umpteenth time last month.

"I'm pregnant," she says even though there's neon paint and synthesized music and the smell of cheap beer hangs in the hair. "Shit."

Colin swallows hard and then picks up the beer Nora abandoned and takes a swig of it. "Shit," he echoes. He looks behind him towards the stage and then says, "Hold on a second. I'll be right back."

Meli doesn't watch him walk away. She focuses all of her attention on the bartender across the room, even though the woman is doing nothing interesting. A minute later, Colin's hand is on her shoulder and he says, "Let's get out of here."

"Don't you have another set?" she asks, even though she's already stood up and reached for her jacket.

"It's cool," says Colin.

They walk out of the club together and Colin pulls her into an alley next to some garbage dumpsters and this place seems only slightly better than discussing pregnancy in a night club. She presses her back against the brick wall of the building and ignores the fact that alleys remind her of demons and vanquishes and murder and concentrates on Colin's soft green eyes as he leans towards her. "How pregnant are you?" he asks.

Meli shrugs. "I'm going to the doctor on Monday," she says. "But if I had to guess, I'd say five weeks? Wasn't that the last time we…?" She gestures between them with her hand.

"Something like that," agrees Colin. "Do you know what you want to do?"

Of course she does because she's Prudence Melinda Halliwell, master of the to-do list, maker of plans, queen of organization. She laid out all of her options as soon as her head had cleared enough to allow some thought other than, "Pregnant. I'm pregnant. Colin." Abortion was out, scarcely a question asked because she was who she was. And she'd thought about Aunt Paige and her cousins and bound powers and the power of love in an adopted family, but somehow she couldn't imagine handing her baby over to someone else. So that left keeping it.

"I'm keeping it," she says. "My parents said they'd help out. I'm going to cut down on the number of classes I'm taking, I guess."

Colin leans back against the wall of the building next to Meli. "Wow," he says.

"Yep," says Meli.

Without a word, Colin reaches out and takes her hand. Meli squeezes his and he squeezes back.

Neither one let's go.

* * *

**A/n: **This story idea popped into my head and so I rolled with it. I might continue it someday; I'm really not sure. I haven't convinced myself that it's a one-shot yet, even though it could be. 

Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed the story. Feedback will be welcomed into my home with loving arms. Thanks so much for reading!

_Katie_


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **I don't own _Charmed_. I'm just having a bit of fun.

**Setting: **Septembet 2031

**In the Silence**

A story by: **Ryeloza**

The first time they'd kissed was at Nora's twenty-second birthday party. There was no plan, no tension, no build-up to the moment. No. Colin was drunk and Meli was tipsy, so when Nora's idiotic friend Tony slammed into Meli from behind she flew right into Colin's chest. She'd pulled away from Colin, ready to turn and shove Tony right back—or at least give him a firm talking-to—but before she could, Colin bent down and pressed his lips right against hers. Just like that. First kiss.

Afterward, she'd turned to complete her task, completely dazed by the impromptu kiss, and Colin had wondered off to find more beer. The next day he didn't even remember what happened and Meli didn't care to refresh his memory.

Two weeks later a large group of them went to Hardy's for a karaoke night and somehow Nora convinced Meli to get up on stage and sing some inane song. When they'd finished and Meli was back in her seat—somehow right next to Colin—he'd leaned over and whispered in her ear that he wanted to kiss her.

"Will you remember it this time?" she'd asked.

But despite her caustic reply she did let him kiss her and he did remember it and two days later they went on their first date.

* * *

After several moments of silence in the alley, Colin offers to take her to the doctor.

"Why don't I meet you there?" she asks.

Colin nods. "Then could we maybe go out for coff—or, uh, breakfast after?"

"Lunch. Appointment is at ten-thirty."

"Okay. Good. Lunch is good."

Abruptly, he drops her hand and she is surprised a moment later when he wraps his arm around her shoulder instead. When she looks up at him he seems anxious and a little queasy; he's sweating and his skin is pallid. She wonders if her expression mirrors his, or if that look has faded since she first discovered the truth. She likes to think it's faded, but she really can't be sure.

After a couple of minutes, they go back into the club.

* * *

Meli doesn't mind the doctor's office, but Colin hates being there. From the moment he arrives, he squirms and pulls at the collar of his shirt. He also can't stop ogling the stomachs of some of the more pregnant women and then turning to glance at Meli's, as though hers will suddenly become as large as theirs. She's grateful when the nurse finally calls her name.

There's a blood test that causes Colin's face to whiten so dramatically Meli wonders if he's going to faint.

"Wait until the birth," says the nurse, causing Meli to groan and Colin to nearly convulse.

"You don't have to be here," Meli whispers once they're left alone to wait for the doctor.

"Yes I do."

* * *

Two days later she gets a call confirming the pregnancy and the next day she and Colin are back in the doctor's office. She's very patient with them, answering Meli's multitude of questions—do we have to take into account my mother's difficulties with pregnancy?; what are the risks?; what books do you recommend I read?; how often should I come for a visit?—and making reassuring comments complete with a big smile and nodding for Colin's benefit.

They walk out of the office and Colin mutters under his breath, "April third," again and again. Meli would be annoyed by his crippling anxiety if not for the fact that he's helping her stay calm. It's strange, but the more he panics, the more determined she feels to maintain some semblance of fortitude.

As they stand next to her car—they drove separately again—Colin finally takes a deep breath and forces himself to calm down. Then he says, "I'm telling my parents tonight."

"Do you want me to come?"

"Do you want to come?"

"If you want me to."

"Have you told your parents yet?"

"Of course."

"Oh. Well. Actually, Mel, I'd love for you to be there…"

"But…?"

"But…there's something I need to ask my mom. Something…personal."

Meli shrugs, though privately she's intrigued—and climbs into her car. Before she even starts the ignition, Colin leans down to face her through the open window. "How'd they take it?" he asks.

"Fine, I guess. They said they'd help however they can."

"Oh. Good."

Impulsively, Meli leans forward and presses her lips against the corner of his mouth. "Call me," she says.

"Okay."

* * *

**A/n: **Thanks for the great reviews for the first chapter! I'm not entirely sure where this story is going to go, but I hope you continue to enjoy it. Feedback is always welcome!

_Katie_


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